240d parts car - opinion?
 

I found a 240d (stick) not too far away (actually real close to ChadTDT's domain - I'm baiting him on another forum right now:)) that looks pretty abused.

How much is this beast worth, in the esteemed opinion of the forum?

The ad disclaims tranny problems/hard shifting and lots of rust - but still, parted out or used as a donor (same year as my daily driver).....it's worth at least $300-$400 in my opinion. Am I crazy? I mean, I am...but how much would you pay? I have a decent place to store it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1981-MERCEDES-BENZ-240D-DIESEL-ENGINE-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ160203841597QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item160203841597


Edit: From the russian site - Interior leather "Twin" pacific blue (132) - does the "twin" imply fake leather (I know it's not MB TEX). I've obviously heard of the leather in benzes but I haven't seen one firsthand.

They have it listed as a 6 cylinder gasser.:confused:

quote from ad:

"The Previous Owner Drove This Vehicle to Our Dealership

From Hundreds of Miles Away, However we Suggest that if

You Were to Purchase it, You Should Have it Inspected and

Serviced Prior to Taking it on the Road.":D

I saw that too - I was going to send them a snarky question - but I figured I've been snarky enough today.

Yeah those kind of statements usually scare me away - but for parts? I'm less picky:D

Hey, but look manal climate controls and a stick...

Wow I wonder why it doesn't say "this car would be great for a biodiesel conversion"...

I know, it's the first alternative fuel free ad I've seen in some time.

I just don't know what the actual deal with the tranny is. Could be a simple fix and a worthy donor - or a complete waste of time.

I mean - picking that thing up for 300 bucks and getting a manual (and local) to store away for ol' Arlene would be a dream come true.

You don't see this in an ebay ad very often:

haha....I know and coupled with Chad's earlier quote - I'd probably have a hell of a time getting this thing down the turnpike.

At least the seller is honest:D.

Why part it out?
 

There's only so many manual transmission 240D's left these days and although it's rough this one looks fairly complete. Why not take care of it and keep it on the road? Enough cars get wrecked in accidents, have engines blown, or some other catastrophe.
It reminds me of when we used to buy old Volkswagen bugs for next to nothing to grab the transmission or engine out of and leave the shell abandoned. Now if you find one of those darn things it's a collector's item.

fdanielson - I have a garage with lots of horizontal surfaces and I'm just itching to spread this 240D out over it:D. Just kidding - I liked your garage post.

I don't know if this one is worth saving.....but don't encourage me, I'm willing to try.....and I was trying to keep a stick 240D on the road, just in my automatic:D.

From the ad...

Major Fading and Lots of Rust and Scratches.

I like to save the classics too, but I've already sent one benz to the scrapyard with a case of unibody/frame rust that was way to scary to even comtemplate fixing.

Hmmmm....4.5 hours left and sitting steady at $406. Any last minute opinions?

one of the pics shows the muffler hanging down... and being held up with a belt of some sort... too bad there are no pics of the underside... no good pics to speak of at all... the tranny could be full of gear oil instead of atf... and it could need shift bushings... or it could be junk. the interior looks ok.
My 85TD has leather interior, that aint leather.

Well, it went for $495. Too salty for me.

If anybody here picked it up - good luck with it.